Fire Sweeps Boat On London Duck Tours; Passengers Leap Into The Thames

If so, please share on iReport. (CNN) — People had to leap into the River Thames on Sunday after the amphibious tour boat taking them around London caught fire near Parliament. “There were flames, and there was lots of black smoke,” Phil Beasley-Harling, an eyewitness, told CNN affiliate ITV. “At one point, it looked as though the boat wasn’t going to survive.” Amateur video showed several passengers jumping into the water as flames and smoke billowed out from the windows at the front of the London Duck Tours boat, a bright yellow vehicle that takes sightseers around the British capital by road and river. After reports of the fire were received late Sunday morning, firefighters, a police helicopter and paramedics rushed to the scene. Several people were pulled from the water, and the blaze was eventually extinguished. Police said all 28 passengers and two crew members on board the vessel were safe. No one was seriously injured, and three people treated at a London hospital for “minor smoke inhalation ailments” have all been discharged, London Duck Tours said. Most of the people on board the boat were foreign tourists, ITV reported. The company and the London Fire Brigade both said the cause of the blaze, which damaged one third of the vessel, was so far unknown. River tours suspended Borough Cmdr. Alison Newcomb of London’s Metropolitan Police said that the maritime coast guard is investigating.

London Best City To Study In World

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings cement the city as the best place to come and study anywhere on the planet. Combined with the proximity of Oxford and Cambridge universities, the area is a golden triangle of elite studying opportunities. A quarter of London’s 420,000 students come from abroad – more than any other city. The number of Chinese people studying in the city is rising and reached a record 14,000 last year up by 12% from the year before. Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘These rankings testify to London’s strength in higher education and to our lengthening lead over European rivals. ‘With more stellar universities in the top 40 than anywhere else in the world, we have 110,000 of the brightest international students studying here already – but we want to attract even more. ‘London offers more than 30,000 courses across dozens of institutions but it is the sheer quality of our education that sets us apart. ‘This is especially true when it comes to medical and life sciences with some of the globe’s best specialist institutions producing ground breaking research. This is changing lives for the better whilst bringing jobs and businesses to grow the capital’s economy at the same time.” The city’s universities in the top 200 are Imperial College (10), University College (21), London School of Economics (32), King’s College (38), Royal Holloway (102) and Queen Mary (114). London has five medical schools, three dental schools, three associated clinical schools plus other institutions specialising in many subjects including art, design, fashion, drama and music. There are already strong educational links between London and China, which are being built on by the Mayor and his promotional organisation London & Partners. There is no cap on the number of overseas students that can study in the UK. Overseas students can work while studying and also undertake work placements.